Population and Seascape Genomics of the Deep-sea Octocoral Acanella arbuscula

Deep-sea corals are under threat from anthropogenic factors such as destruction from bottom contact fishing gear, gas and oil exploration, deep-sea mining, pollution, and climate change. One unique coral, Acanella arbuscula (Isididae), is the only known species of branching coral that is found in large gardens stretching tens of kilometers where its shallow root-like hold fasts anchor it in soft sediment. They are incredibly fragile with fine branches only a few millimeters in diameter. These coral gardens provide habitat for commercially important fish species as well as several invertebrates that live obligately on A. arbuscula. Soft sediment coral gardens are heavily fished in the North Atlantic Ocean, and A. arbuscula are very commonly caught as by-catch. People working in the fisheries have reported gill nets on shore in Newfoundland, Canada containing upwards of one hundred dead Acanella colonies. Due to their importance to the deep-sea ecosystem, their unique nature, and the current threat to their survival, these octocorals are a sensible target for conservation. In order to conserve populations of deep-sea corals, it is imperative that researchers and stakeholders understand the connectivity of populations across the North Atlantic Ocean, because the recovery of areas decimated by bottom contact fishing gear will rely on larval recruitment from local populations. Recruited larvae are unlikely to survive if their source environment is largely different from where they settle, because corals are sensitive to changes in environmental conditions such as temperature, salinity, oxygenation, nutrient availability, and calcium carbonate concentration. Therefore, along with genetic connectivity, it is essential to understand the environmental seascape and what factors are contributing to local adaptation in populations. This research was carried out in three stages. First, the most beneficial methods of extracting DNA from deep-sea corals were investigated. Five different extraction methods were compared in the search for a method that produced high quality genomic DNA. The salting-out method and plant mini kit extractions were found to be the best methods for Acanella arbuscula. Second, Single Nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) generated from ultra-conserved elements (UCE) sequencing were used to investigate the connectivity of 362 colonies from 33 sites spanning depths of 60-2,300 m across nearly the entire geographical range of A. arbuscula from Greenland, Canada, Scotland, Ireland, and Spain. Four genetic clusters emerged, and trans-Atlantic connectivity of these octocorals was discovered with high levels of geneflow between Canadian samples and European samples at similar depths. A barrier to geneflow was discovered in the Eastern Atlantic where samples collected shallower than 1,200m showed almost no genetic connectivity to samples collected deeper than 1,200 m depth. Additionally, distinct genetic cluster formed exclusively for samples collected in the Bay of Biscay (Spain) around 860 m was identified. It is suspected that warm highly saline Mediterranean outflow water traveling northward creates a barrier to geneflow in this region. Finally, we used the SNPs generated from this study to investigate local adaptation to environmental factors across the 33 study sites in the North Atlantic. We compared 12 environmental variables such as seafloor temperature, oxygenation, nutrient availability, salinity, and pH across all of the sites with the genotypic diversity of the corals found at those sites for each UCE SNP marker. Twelve significant environment marker associations were found, and all of them were associated with seafloor temperature. Temperature on the seafloor appears to be the main driver of local adaptation in A. arbuscula. Using the associations between genotype and the environmental variables measured, it was possible to model the potential genotype for the entire study area and predict potential stepping-stones to connectivity. The combination of connectivity and migration data with local adaptation data was used to point out areas that are potentially vulnerable to climate change and destruction from direct anthropogenic threats. Some broad suggestions were made for potential MPA locations to help maintain populations in the North Atlantic such as Eastern Greenland, Southern Iceland, the Celtic Sea, and Cantabrian Sea

Recurrence of pulmonary intravascular bronchoalveolar tumor with mediastinal metastasis 20 years later

SummaryPulmonary intravascular bronchoalveolar tumor (IVBAT) also recognized as pulmonary epithelioid hemangioendothelioma, is a rare malignant vascular tumor of unknown etiology. IVBAT is a tumor of multicentric origin and the lungs are rarely involved, with only about 60 cases of pulmonary IVBAT described in the literature. The prognosis is unpredictable, with life expectancy ranging from 1 to 15 years. We report an unusual case of pulmonary IVBAT that recurred in the lung with metastasis to the mediastinum

Simple and High Yielding Method for Preparing Tissue Specific Extracellular Matrix Coatings for Cell Culture

Background: The native extracellular matrix (ECM) consists of a highly complex, tissue-specific network of proteins and polysaccharides, which help regulate many cellular functions. Despite the complex nature of the ECM, in vitro cell-based studies traditionally assess cell behavior on single ECM component substrates, which do not adequately mimic the in vivo extracellular milieu. Methodology/Principal Findings: We present a simple approach for developing naturally derived ECM coatings for cell culture that provide important tissue-specific cues unlike traditional cell culture coatings, thereby enabling the maturation of committed C2C12 skeletal myoblast progenitors and human embryonic stem cells differentiated into cardiomyocytes. Here we show that natural muscle-specific coatings can (i) be derived from decellularized, solubilized adult porcine muscle, (ii) contain a complex mixture of ECM components including polysaccharides, (iii) adsorb onto tissue culture plastic and (iv) promote cell maturation of committed muscle progenitor and stem cells. Conclusions: This versatile method can create tissue-specific ECM coatings, which offer a promising platform for cell cultur

Inflammatory effects of inhaled sulfur mustard in rat lung

Inhalation of sulfur mustard (SM), a bifunctional alkylating agent that causes severe lung damage, is a significant threat to both military and civilian populations. The mechanisms mediating its cytotoxic effects are unknown and were investigated in the present studies. Male rats Crl:CD(SD) were anesthetized, and then intratracheally intubated and exposed to 0.7–1.4 mg/kg SM by vapor inhalation. Animals were euthanized 6, 24, 48 h or 7 days post-exposure and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL) and lung tissue collected. Exposure of rats to SM resulted in rapid pulmonary toxicity, including focal ulceration and detachment of the trachea and bronchial epithelia from underlying mucosa, thickening of alveolar septal walls and increased numbers of inflammatory cells in the tissue. There was also evidence of autophagy and apoptosis in the tissue. This was correlated with increased BAL protein content, a marker of injury to the alveolar epithelial lining. SM exposure also resulted in increased expression of markers of inflammation including cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and matrix metalloproteinase- 9 (MMP-9), each of which has been implicated in pulmonary toxicity. Whereas COX-2, TNFα and iNOS were mainly localized in alveolar regions, MMP-9 was prominent in bronchial epithelium. In contrast, expression of the anti-oxidant hemeoxygenase, and the anti-inflammatory collectin, surfactant protein-D, decreased in the lung after SM exposure. These data demonstrate that SM-induced oxidative stress and injury are associated with the generation of cytotoxic inflammatory proteins which may contribute to the pathogenic response to this vesicant

Clinical and serological features of systemic sclerosis in a multicenter African American cohort: Analysis of the genome research in African American scleroderma patients clinical database.

Racial differences exist in the severity of systemic sclerosis (SSc). To enhance our knowledge about SSc in African Americans, we established a comprehensive clinical database from the largest multicenter cohort of African American SSc patients assembled to date (the Genome Research in African American Scleroderma Patients (GRASP) cohort).African American SSc patients were enrolled retrospectively and prospectively over a 30-year period (1987-2016), from 18 academic centers throughout the United States. The cross-sectional prevalence of sociodemographic, clinical, and serological features was evaluated. Factors associated with clinically significant manifestations of SSc were assessed using multivariate logistic regression analyses.The study population included a total of 1009 African American SSc patients, comprised of 84% women. In total, 945 (94%) patients met the 2013 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism (ACR/EULAR) classification criteria for SSc, with the remaining 64 (6%) meeting the 1980 ACR or CREST (calcinosis, Raynaud's phenomenon, esophageal dysmotility, sclerodactyly, telangiectasia) criteria. While 43% were actively employed, 33% required disability support. The majority (57%) had the more severe diffuse subtype and a young age at symptom onset (39.1 ± 13.7 years), in marked contrast to that reported in cohorts of predominantly European ancestry. Also, 1 in 10 patients had a severe Medsger cardiac score of 4. Pulmonary fibrosis evident on computed tomography (CT) chest was present in 43% of patients and was significantly associated with anti-topoisomerase I positivity. 38% of patients with CT evidence of pulmonary fibrosis had a severe restrictive ventilator defect, forced vital capacity (FVC) ≤50% predicted. A significant association was noted between longer disease duration and higher odds of pulmonary hypertension, telangiectasia, and calcinosis. The prevalence of potentially fatal scleroderma renal crisis was 7%, 3.5 times higher than the 2% prevalence reported in the European League Against Rheumatism Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) cohort.Our study emphasizes the unique and severe disease burden of SSc in African Americans compared to those of European ancestry

Influence of Incentive Design and Organizational Characteristics on Wellness Participation and Health Outcomes

Objective: To explore how changing incentive designs influence wellness participation and health outcomes. Methods: Aggregated retrospective data were evaluated using cluster analysis to group 174 companies into incentive design types. Numerous statistical models assessed between-group differences in wellness participation, earning incentives, and over-time differences in health outcomes. Results: Four incentive design groups based on requirements for earning incentives were identified. The groups varied in support for and participation in wellness initiatives within each company. All four design types were associated with improved low density lipoprotein (LDL)(P \u3c 0.01), three with improved blood pressure (P \u3c 0.001), and two with improved fasting glucose (P \u3c 0.03). No incentive plan types were associated with improved body mass index (BMI), but designs predominantly focused on health outcomes (eg, Outcomes-Focused) exhibited a significant increase over time in BMI risk. Conclusion: Incentive design and organizational characteristics impact population-level participation and health outcomes

Detection of Magnesium-Rich Ejecta in the Middle-Aged Supernova Remnant N49B

The middle-aged supernova remnant (SNR) N49B in the Large Magellanic Cloud has been observed with the {\it Chandra X-Ray Observatory}. The superb angular resolution of {\it Chandra} resolves the complex structure of X-ray emitting filaments across the SNR. All observed features are soft ($E <$ 3 keV) and we find no evidence for either point-like or extended hard emission within the SNR. Spectral lines from O, Ne, Mg, Si, S, and Fe are present. Equivalent width images for the detected elemental species and spatially-resolved spectral analysis reveal the presence of Mg-rich ejecta within the SNR. We find no such enrichment in O or Ne, which may reflect details of the nucleosynthesis process or the heating and cooling of the ejecta as it evolved. The bright circumferential filaments are emission from the shocked dense interstellar medium (ISM). We detect faint diffuse X-ray emission that extends beyond the X-ray bright filaments toward the west and southeast. These features appear to be the blast wave shock front expanding into lower density portions of the ISM seen in projection. We set an upper limit of $\sim$$2\times 10^{33}$ ergs s$^{-1}$ on the 0.5 $-$ 5 keV band X-ray luminosity of any embedded compact object.Comment: 3 text pages (ApJ emulator style), 3 figures, 1 table, Accepted for the publication in Ap J Letter